THE 2005 ELECTIONS: THE WINNER; A Mayor Unleashed, Poised to Offer an Even Broader Agenda

By JIM RUTENBERG

Published: November 9, 2005

With a huge re-election victory giving Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg what his supporters described last night as a sweeping mandate, the Democrats who oppose him are girding for a sequel at City Hall that might best be called ''Bloomberg Unleashed.''

If the past is any guide, Mr. Bloomberg will oblige them. After winning narrowly in 2001, he imposed a smoking ban in New York City bars, raised property taxes by historic proportions and risked the anger of parents by holding back struggling grammar-school students. On top of all that, he wrested control of the public school system from the Board of Education.

Given his much larger victory yesterday, mayoral aides were already talking about spending the next four years taking a firmer hold of ground zero development, building up Governors Island and pursuing the city's largest low- and middle-income housing program ever. They also spoke of taking away Albany's control of crucial city budgetary matters, while changing a power dynamic they say has been unbalanced for too long against the city.

And Mr. Bloomberg's close supporters are predicting that he will pursue a still grander agenda. It could include hot-button proposals like the one he dropped early on in his tenure because of political opposition: congestion pricing to reduce traffic congestion, using an electronic toll system for cars and trucks in busy business districts, if not the tolls on East River bridges that he discussed in 2001.

''We have every indication that the city is prepared to look closely at that,'' said Kathryn Wylde, president of the New York City Partnership and a Bloomberg supporter, who added that she had spoken recently with city officials about the creation of business-district tolls as part of a larger traffic reduction plan.

But Edward Skyler, Mr. Bloomberg's communications director, warned against wild speculation about what the mayor would do in his second term, beyond the promises he has made this fall -- most of them to expand the initiatives of his first term and many focusing on the poor.

''It's an exciting time, but he's been focused on not only winning re-election but also on governing,'' Mr. Skyler said yesterday. ''Other than what he's laid out in his campaign speeches, he hasn't shared other more sweeping ideas he may have.''

Either way, Mr. Bloomberg certainly finds himself in an exceptional new position. During his victory speech, he seemed to cast his re-election as an affirmation of some of his less popular moves: ''I always dreamed that our victory tonight could send a message that you can make the tough decisions and be re-elected, as long as they are the right decisions.''

And one could almost hear opposing Democrats shudder when he added, ''Ain't no stopping us now.''

Even with a narrow victory, he would have had a rare chance to pursue his whims without the usual shackles holding other politicians back. As a billionaire who financed his own campaign, he has not filled up a favor account at the Special Interest Savings and Loan. As someone who claims to have no political ambition beyond the next four years, he does not have to govern with an eye on poll numbers.

Now, with the election out of the way and a mighty wind of voter support at his back, Mr. Bloomberg would seem to have new license to perform as the ultimate nonpolitician and take on issues that no elected official with any sense of political self-preservation would touch.

Expectations are already high.

''What does he do in the next four years?'' said William B. Eimicke, a professor of public administration at Columbia University. ''He looks for signatures, he looks at things he leaves behind so someday people talk about him in the same breath with La Guardia, maybe Koch, as among the greatest mayors in history.''

But mayoral aides said that because Mr. Bloomberg never believed he would win by such a wide margin, they were viewing his mandate as something akin to a Christmas bonus: he has it in hand, but he does not know how he will spend it. They acknowledged that he would have to decide soon, as Mr. Bloomberg faces a two-term limit and will be considered a lame duck in just a few years.

At the top of his list, aides said, is ''locking in'' mayoral control of the public education system and ultimately being remembered as changing the state of city schools the way his predecessor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, is remembered for reducing crime. Aides predicted that Mr. Bloomberg's education overhaul would move more aggressively into the high schools.

William T. Cunningham, a senior adviser, said the mayor already had his hands full with his campaign promises, including the construction of 165,000 units of low- and middle-income housing; the start of new early-education and after-school programs, and creating an emergency-command structure that would give the police control over forces run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and Jersey.

Mandate or no, he and other advisers said, Mr. Bloomberg will face a major challenge from the start that could hinder his agenda: an expected $4 billion budget deficit.

That said, some plans that did not come up during the election year are already being discussed by the administration. Two senior-level officials with Mr. Bloomberg pointed to an initiative that may not make for exciting headlines but could have implications for the long-term financial health of the city: making a muscular push to persuade the state to allow the city to create a new, less costly pension tier for new city workers -- a potential two-front battle against legislators and unions that would go a long way toward plugging the city's structural budget gap.

While that would be a major achievement, Mr. Bloomberg is a man of healthy ego, and will most likely seek splashier, big-ticket items in his last term. His ambitious economic development team, led by Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff, is widely expected to seek a new plan on the order of its failed proposal for a West Side stadium -- though it will have its hands full at ground zero and Governors Island.

Aides said an aggressive, high-tech traffic-congestion plan would certainly be in keeping with the mayor's concerns, but not if it stood in the way of the rest of his agenda.

And there lies the rub. Mr. Bloomberg may be relatively free of the pressure from outside forces, like unions and real-estate lobbyists, that beset politicians who rely on campaign contributions. But a mayor still needs allies and support to govern, and mandates have a way of fading fast in this town.

''These things are very, very short lived,'' said Fran Reiter, a former top deputy and campaign aide to Mr. Giuliani, who won in 1997 with a huge margin over the Democrat, Ruth W. Messinger. ''If he comes up with something bold and popular, it makes it easier. If he rolls out something that's wildly unpopular, this election is going to be forgotten in a millisecond.''

But Mr. Bloomberg has powerful motivation to use his clout wisely: his legacy.